Amazon Air will have a ‘growth spurt’ this spring and could eventually resemble an airline, study says

Amazon’s aircraft fleet is on pace to have doubled in size between May 2020 and June of this year, laying further groundwork for Amazon Air to rival the likes of carriers FedEx and UPS, according to a study. Amazon Air now makes an average of 140 flights per day and is expanding its fleet, signaling a “growth spurt this spring,” said the report issued Tuesday by DePaul University’s Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development. “As new airplanes are added to the fleet, we anticipate the number of flights will grow to 160+ by June 2021,” according to the report. “If it reaches this milestone, Amazon Air will have approximately doubled in size in the 13 months between May 2020 and June 2021.” Amazon’s air cargo fleet is a critical part of the company’s strategy to meet its increasingly ambitious one- and two-day delivery targets. The company quietly began testing out air cargo operations in Wilmington, Ohio, in 2015 as part of a project under the code name “Aerosmith.” Since then, Amazon Air has grown rapidly, particularly during the coronavirus pandemic. Amazon leases most of its cargo aircraft through Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings and Air Transport Services Group, but in January it purchased 11 used Boeing 767-300 jets from Delta and WestJet. When the 11 Boeing jets are in service by the end of 2022, Amazon will have a fleet of more than 85 planes. That’s a far cry from FedEx, which has 679 planes, and UPS’ fleet of 572 owned, leased or chartered aircraft. Still, analysts believe Amazon’s growth trajectory could set it on a collision course with major shippers.<br/>